Bangladesh opt to bowl first in 1st ODI against New Zealand

Bangladesh captain Liton Das decided to send New Zealand into bat first after winning the toss in the three-match ODI series opening game today at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

Keeping World Cup in mind, both of the teams rested its key players in order to keep them fresh and injury free.

As expectedly, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah Riyad, the two senior players are back to the Bangladesh squad with the former recovering from his back problem.

Mahmudullah was dropped after the England series in March following a poor run of form but is believed to be a strong contender for the No.7 spot if he shows good performance in this series.

Bangladesh also brought back Soumya Sarkar, who played his last ODI two years ago.

Lockie Ferguson will lead the New Zealand side which has sent only five World Cup-bound players in this series.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi returned to the side after missing the England series, which New Zealand lost.

Line Ups:

Bangladesh : Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das (c), Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Towhid Hridoy, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Chad Bowes, Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson(c), Trent Boult. (BSS)